KIDNEY TRANSPLANT

Are you waiting for one? Do you know someone who is? If so, then chances are you’ve heard about the Kidney Paired Donation program, but haven’t considered it because you didn’t understand how it works. Let me share my experience and why the Kidney Paired Donation program is an amazing option.

FIRST – IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE A LIVING KIDNEY.

The Kidney Paired Donation program is for recipients who have someone willing to donate their kidney, but are not able to donate to the recipient because they’re not a match. When this happens, the pair can be entered into a nationwide system called UNOS that searches for matches to other donors and recipients. In our case, my husband was an O+ and I was an A+. My kidney was not a match for my husband. We entered into the Kidney Paired Donation program. My A+ kidney went to a recipient who needed an A+, while my husband received a kidney from an O+ donor.

SECOND – IT SPEEDS UP THE WAIT TIME FOR MANY RECIPIENTS.

The Kidney Paired Donation program is nationwide. There is a bigger data base of recipients and donors to draw from which gives a better chance for a match to happen quickly. My husband and I entered into the Kidney Donation Paired program in April and we had a match by August of the same year. It cut my husband’s waiting time down by years, plus gave him a living kidney.

THIRD – IT ALLOWS YOU SOME FLEXIBILITY TO SET THE DATE OF THE TRANSPLANT.

My husband and I were notified in August of our matches. The surgeries were scheduled for the end of September. There was plenty of time for my husband and I to tie up loose ends and prepare for our recovery time prior to surgery. If my husband had received a call from the deceased waiting list, we would have had to drop and go with no time to tie up any unfinished projects.

LAST – IT IS A LIFE GIVING OPTION FOR MORE THAN ONE PERSON.

By my husband and I entering into the Kidney Paired Donation program, life was given to two recipients: my husband and the woman who received my kidney. In some instances a chain of 3 or 4 pairs are interconnected with 6 to 8 surgeries scheduled; all recipients receiving life giving organs. For me, it was an overwhelming feeling to know that I helped not only my husband, but gave someone else another chance at life.